Album Review

Ex-Floetry poet Natalie Stewart's first solo album, released after her creative partnership with Marsha Ambrosius sailed away on a floe, carries on in the tradition of her past work. For Floetry fans who wanted Stewart, the Floacist, to be given more time in the spotlight, Floetic Soul should be worth the wait. Stewart’s breathy, labyrinthine spoken word verses here — heavy on romantic matters while allowing plenty of time for introspection and casually uplifting material — stretch out in a low-key but stimulating way. The woman can hold her own. That said, the three cuts featuring guest vocalists — “Keep It Going” (Raheem DeVaughn), “Forever” (Musiq Soulchild), and the particularly excellent silken quiet storm of “Come Over” (Lalah Hathaway) — just happen to be the brightest spots.

Biography

Born: England

Genre: R&B/Soul

Years Active: '00s, '10s

After the 2007 split of R&B duo Floetry, spoken word artist and whisper-voiced vocalist Natalie Stewart — aka the Floacist — made a handful of guest appearances on recordings by other musicians, including Brian Culbertson's XII. She signed as a solo artist to the Shanachie label, which released her debut album, Floetic Soul, in November 2010. Dominated by seductive ballads featuring Stewart’s trademark breathy whispers, she benefited from collaborations with Musiq Soulchild, Raheem...